Don\u2019t you love it when your efforts start paying off\u2014when you start actually seeing the fruits of your labor? And this is especially true when your efforts are going toward book promotion.<\/p>\n
As you may recall, I\u2019m in the process of promoting my newest book, Catscapades, True Cat Tales<\/em><\/strong>. I\u2019ve spent a lot of time these past weeks contacting pet\/cat book reviewers, cat newsletter editors, cat website owners, cat-related gift shops, independent bookstores and so forth. It\u2019s time-consuming work. First, you have to find the appropriate opportunity and contact info. Then you must devise a meaningful email\/letter. And then you wait. It\u2019s a joyful day when you stumble across a directory or listing of merchants, reviewers, etc. But beware, many of them are outdated. <\/p>\n I think I told you that I came across two large lists of cats only gift shops. I checked each one online to see if I could find out their current contact information. Even so, I am now getting letters returned with notes stating, \u201cNo such address\u2026\u201d It has been my experience over the years, however, that you really do have to sift through a lot of bad leads in order to find the gems. And those gems can be worth the effort. <\/p>\n I belong to the Cat Writers Association (CWA). And I have announced my new book to their discussion group in a variety of ways. Most of you probably use a \u201csignature,\u201d right? This is a sort of mini-bio or promo that is automatically added to the bottom of all of your email. Here\u2019s how mine reads: <\/p>\n Patricia Fry, freelance writer, author and editorial consultant. Patricia is the author of 31 books including, Visit my informative writing\/publishing Blog often: Well, many CWA members saw this and other less subtle mentions of my new book in the discussion emails, but no one responded. Last week, I located the member directory for CWA. During the last several days, I\u2019ve been contacting those members who review cat books, those with newspaper pet columns, those with cat newsletters and those that recommend cat-related books at their sites and I\u2019ve been telling them about my book. Guess what? The response has been astounding. So far, I have enthusiastic promises of four reviews and one member has already posted news of my book in her newspaper column. Now, I am going through the CWA list to locate other members with cat books and I\u2019ll check their appearances and book tour pages as well as their press releases and book review pages. How will this information help me in my promotional pursuits? I may discover new book review opportunities for my cat stories book. I might get some new ideas and leads for promoting this book. <\/p>\n If you\u2019ve been involved in book promotion, you know that there are ups and downs. You feel defeated and depressed one week\u2014when nothing seems to be happening\u2014no one is noticing\u2014no one cares. And then you\u2019ll hit upon a goldmine of resources or a brilliant idea and your efforts begin to spark some definite interest in your book. Has this been your experience?<\/p>\n Or have you given up on promoting your book. Over 75 percent of authors do, you know. They sell maybe 50 or 100 copies mostly to people they know. And then, when sales slide or become nonexistent, and promotion gets harder, they quit. <\/p>\n I hope to encourage you, through this blog, my writing\/publishing books, my many articles posted all over the web, the resources and information at my website, my online courses and my presentations, to properly prepare yourself for your publishing adventure. And I hope that by telling my blow-by-blow experiences promoting Catscapades<\/em><\/strong> right out of the chute is helpful to your project. And, for those of you who are still in the writing stages, I hope it gives you some idea about what comes after you finish writing that book.<\/p>\n I met a writer recently who expects to be published by a traditional publisher because then they will take care of promotion. But I\u2019m here to tell you, it does not work that way! The author is responsible for promoting his\/her book no matter which publishing option they choose.<\/p>\n Okay, now that you are becoming a believer, maybe it is time that you did a more in-depth study of the publishing industry, your options, how to choose the best option for your project, the possible consequences of your choices, your responsibility as a published author and so much more. Go to http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com<\/a>. Seek out the mode of learning there that most appeals to you. Contact me with questions: PLFry620@yahoo.com <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Don\u2019t you love it when your efforts start paying off\u2014when you start actually seeing the fruits of your labor? And this is especially true when your efforts are going toward book promotion. As you may recall, I\u2019m in the process of promoting my newest book, Catscapades, True Cat Tales. I\u2019ve spent a lot of time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
\nwww.matilijapress.com
\nExecutive Director of SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network)
\nwww.spawn.org <\/p>\n
\nThe Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book
\nThe Author’s Repair Kit (e-book)
\nThe Successful Author’s Handbook (e-book)
\nand her newest book, Catscapades, True Cat Tales
\nwww.matilijapress.com\/catscapades.html <\/p>\n
\nwww.matilijapress.com\/publishingblog<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.examiner.com\/examiner\/x-9729-Cats-Examiner~y2010m5d6-Catscapades-offers-a-collection-of-40–true-cat-stories<\/a><\/p>\n